The Hound | Oct. 26

Hi there,

It’s Monday. The Trump DOJ has filed a lawsuit to block Alaska from certifying its Senate election results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola. The pretext: a different man named “Daniel J. Sullivan” is also on the ballot as a Republican, and the DOJ claims voters will be confused — even though Sullivan is clearly listed as the incumbent. This lawsuit was filed the day after Attorney General Todd Blanche publicly admitted he was open to blocking states from certifying elections. The DOJ is now attempting to do exactly that, in a closely watched race.

🖊️ Sign the petition to call on the media to cover the DOJ’s Alaska lawsuit not as an unusual legal maneuver, but as what it plainly is: a president using the nation’s top law enforcement agency to preemptively interfere in a Senate election he fears his party will lose.

This is not a voter protection measure. It is a contingency plan — filed in advance, triggered only if the Republican loses — to give the administration legal cover to contest a Democratic victory. The Justice Department has never before inserted itself into election certification this way. The public deserves reporting that names this as election interference — before the votes are counted, not after.

In addition, despite a water crisis in Iowa — factory farms get a special pass on environmental permitting putting the state’s waterways at risk. And, how local law enforcement officers signed up to be on the front lines of Donald Trump’s deportation campaign.

Read about these, and more, in today’s stories:

Trump DOJ Sues to Block Senate Race Results if Republican Loses (The New Republic)

A Texas Cop Signed on to Help ICE Deport His Neighbors. It Tore the Town Apart. (ProPublica)

Amid Iowa’s Water Crisis, Factory Farms Get a Pass on Environmental Permitting (Inside Climate News)

New York's archdiocese and survivors of clergy abuse agree to $800 million legal settlement (PBS)

Hegseth Built a New Pentagon Office for Religion. Military Religious Leaders Wish He Hadn’t. (The Intercept)

A child of Japanese incarceration’s call to arms: ‘The lessons of Manzanar have never been more urgent’ (The Guardian)

SNAP Participation Has Dropped. The Need Hasn’t. (Civil Eats)

Until next time,

Harry from The Hound

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